Better Buy: J.C. Penney, Inc. vs. Amazon.com

With the seemingly inevitable rise of e-commerce, it's no mystery that the retail industry is quickly changing. And some of the world's best-known traditional retailers are being left behind in the process.

But this also presents a dilemma for many investors today. Do you buy shares of the world's online retail leaders even at historic highs? Or should you take advantage of the depressed share prices of some primarily brick-and-mortar chains as they work to navigate this evolving retail landscape?

Let's take a closer look at two companies that I believe perfectly represent this dilemma today: J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Source: Fool.com